The climate change movement: July 28, 1995 to August 14, 2020 RIP

[freebeard]

But only one nation has used it enough to make weapons.

[citation needed]

[redpoint5]

It's crazy that the US hasn't developed safe, affordable, non nuclear weapon proliferation nuclear energy. It would completely solve the Iran situation. Here's your power plant; now there's no need to enrich uranium.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by aerohead

The other night, PBS reported that, the scientists had reported that, the Gulf Stream, in the Atlantic Ocean, which historically has brought equatorial heat northwards, has already 'slowed' by 30%.
They also reported that Exxon-Mobil is spending $100,000,000 in new propaganda media campaigns to try and convince the general global population that transitioning off fossil-fuels is impossible.
The Chevy BOLT that I drove on solar electricity over the Thanksgiving holiday failed to get the memo though.

When we have a few winters that just won't end like 77-78 will need fossil fuels to stay warm. Solar panels don't work at night and the coldest nights tend to have the calmest winds.

[redpoint5]

I achieved zero solar output on one day during the recent ice storm, and nearly no output on other days. The sleet covered the panels, and even on a bright sunny winter day, the panels wouldn't warm up because the snow was insulating them and reflecting the sunlight.

I made 130 kWh this month on a 6.6kW rated system, or 4.3 kWh per day on average.

April my solar production begins to exceed consumption, and goes until October where I return to a net consumer.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I achieved zero solar output on one day during the recent ice storm, and nearly no output on other days. The sleet covered the panels, and even on a bright sunny winter day, the panels wouldn't warm up because the snow was insulating them and reflecting the sunlight.

I made 130 kWh this month on a 6.6kW rated system, or 4.3 kWh per day on average.

April my solar production begins to exceed consumption, and goes until October where I return to a net consumer.

Yeah solar setups with micro inverters do terrible on over cast days or when covered with snow mine do the same thing.

[aerohead]

https://climate.mit.edu/explainers/climate-sensitivity

[freebeard]

Many controversies in climate science hinge on just how strong the various feedbacks are, and whether scientists have accounted for all of them.

And then there are the 'Black Swan' events, perturbation instead of feedback.

[redpoint5]

Most informed opinions predict peak cheap oil very soon, like within this decade. Fossil fuels are fairly inelastic, meaning small changes in supply can drive large price swings upward or downward.

I've got a few poorly formed questions relating to doubling the amount of fossil fuelled CO2 that has already been burned. Given peak cheap oil, and an assumption of peak oil occurring shorty after, how many years until we double the consumption since the beginning of fossil fuel consumption? What would be the resultant atmospheric CO2 concentration (keeping in mind half of emissions are absorbed by the ocean).

While I have no expertise whatsoever, my WAG is that humanity would experience a net benefit increasing CO2 concentration up to about 600ppm (I'm sure there's no money being spent to determine what concentration is ideal). I'd be curious in estimates of when we would hit that level. That's basically a doubling of what increase has already occurred.

I expect to live during this Goldilocks age, and I also expect by then we will have figured out how to maintain "just right".

EDIT: Found this graph that seems to confirm my assumption that doubling what has already been burned will achieve about a 600ppm atmospheric CO2 concentration.

[freebeard]

The future is so bright we will need mirror dark glasses. ....Until the Beaufort Gyre cuts loose and stalls the Gulf Stream.

Crude oil is replenishable, but we shouldn't burn it faster than is bubbles up from the depths.

[freebeard]

The Putin agrees with redpoint5:

TUCKER: Let’s touch on climate change. It’s still being pushed in the United States and Europe. What’s your position?

PUTIN: Humanity is not even a Type 1 civilization on the Kardashev scale. If we can’t harness the energy potential of the planet how can we control the climate?

TUCKER: Are you at least concerned?

PUTIN: I’m more concerned with real issues. Climate change is not one of them. The Earth does a fairly good job of regulating itself. And if Siberia gets a little warmer all the better. More farmland for Russia.

TUCKER: But what would you tell the true believers who’re convinced we’re headed for disaster?

PUTIN: I’d tell them worrying about climate change is like complaining about the weather. If you don’t like the climate, move. If you are worried about the weather, get an umbrella.

https://stateofthenation.co/?p=209353